A Very Shin Makoku Krismass
by Alice Elliot
Summary: Or: "I Told You, It's 'Christmas!" Günter catches word of a certain holiday from Yuuri's world, and decides to recreate it in Shin Makoku. Just some holiday fun with the Covenant Castle crew, with more than a dash of fluff. Some Yuuram.
1. Deck the Halls

A/N: Considering when I'm posting this here, this is quite late, but happy holidays to all you lovely KKM fans! Let's make every day a holiday, okay? Here's my gratuitously cute holiday epic. Okay, maybe not quite epic, but it's longer than you'd expect. I just wanted to write about everyone, because I love them too much. This takes place before the end of season two, as Yuuri can't move between worlds on his own. Please look the other way and pretend that Effe should be there. Some Yuuri/Wolfram and a few other slightly implied ships! Enjoy.

A Very Shin Makoku Krismass, or: "I Told You, It's 'Christmas!'"

Chapter 1: Deck the Halls

Although many castle guards gave him startled looks as he brushed past them through the halls, Günter paid them no mind. He marched forward with a determined stride, his long locks and billowy robes trailing behind him. He was the absolute portrait of grave regality. Every flowing hair was somehow perfectly in place, despite the fact that his pace stated with no room for doubt that time was of the essence for him.

He flung the undecorated wooden door to the kitchens open with one smooth motion, sending it flying against the stone wall. The four maids, who had been sitting around the center table within, promptly stood at attention, each fixing her skirt or hair nervously. "Lord von Kleist!" Doria cried out, causing a successive chorus down the line as each girl realized just who had burst in.

"Good afternoon," said Lord uttered hastily, as if only remembering formalities existed just then. "I have an important task to charge you with, for our very nation... nay, for our King himself!" he proclaimed directly after, with no more time spared for small talk.

The four moved in unison to salute, their backs held as straight as they could manage.

Günter smiled, looking satisfied with their reaction. Posing a hand outwards dramatically to point at the group, he declared, "I need you to create a Krismass Cake!"

Although Sangria and Lasagna exchanged confused glances, no one dropped from their salutes, remaining still and silent.

"What's the delay?" Günter asked, entirely in earnest.

Little Effe was the first one to fidget. "Excuse me, Lord von Kleist," she started shyly, "but what is a... Krismass Cake?"

"Well," Günter coughed, casting his gaze aside and pausing for a moment. After some thought, he looked back to the staff and continued with what sounded like total confidence, "It is a 'festive cake,' naturally!"

This time, each girl tilted her head in confusion. "A cake for a festival, you mean?" Lasagna offered, sounding uncertain.

"Precisely," Günter nodded.

"I didn't think there was a festival coming up," Doria mumbled, as if to herself. Sangria nodded, humming thoughtfully.

"But of course there is!" Günter cried out, passion in his eyes. "By the end of this moon, it shall be our treasured new festival, taken right from the divine homeland of His Majesty..." here he paused for dramatic effect, before booming out, "_Krismass_!"

The maids all gasped in unison, if only because it was a part of the script they knew Günter wanted to act out. "Krismass!" they all repeated, sounding amazed, before Effe followed with, "What is this 'Krismass' festival, though?"

"How fortuitous that you have asked," Günter replied with a delighted smirk. "It is a celebration of Winter and the spirit of love and gift-giving! Truly a festival noble in character, as expected of our sublime Majesty's world!"

"How lovely," Lasagna sighed, and the others nodded with small smiles.

Nodding emphatically, Günter continued, "Quite! And one part of this grand festival is the eating of the Krismass Cake. It is an essential part of the Krismass experience, eaten on the night before-Krismass Eve!"

Although three of the maids looked quite delighted still with this new excuse to celebrate, Effe furrowed her brows, still puzzled. "How is it different from a regular cake?" she asked, reluctantly ready for whatever otherworldly culinary mystery awaited her.

Günter looked caught only for a second, before he stiffened his shoulders and spoke as if reciting. "As I said before, it is 'festive.' And, I believe, a particularly proper Krismass Cake contains a surprise gift somewhere in the cake. The one blessed enough to receive the piece with the present is said to be granted eternal happiness!"

Sangria, Lasagna, and Doria all shared looks of excitement at the prospect of a cake with everlasting joy baked into it. Only Effe remained troubled. "A present... within the cake? That will be a challenge... what sort of present?"

"Something of value, as I understand it," Günter stated, as if it actually answered the question.

"Okay..." Effe reluctantly nodded, deciding to work something out on her own later. "And, what about the 'festive' part? Are there any symbols for this festival that I should put onto the cake?"

"An excellent plan!" Günter exclaimed with a flourish. "The primary symbols include... red, green, trees, and rheindier!"

"Rheindier?" the maids blinked back in confusion.

"They are majestic creatures from His Majesty's world! They seem to be some sort of flying horse-like creature, but with impressive, large horns."

Effe looked seriously distressed. "Perhaps... it would be alright if I left the rheindier out of the cake?" she asked hesitantly.

Although he appeared to consider it for a moment, Günter ultimately nodded. "You're absolutely right," he said. "It would be over-crowded and gaudy to include them on the cake as well."

The same thought flashed through all four of the girls' minds then: _...As well?_

"Thank you, Your Excellency," Effe dipped into a curtsy, her head bowed politely. A chorus of voices joined her belatedly as the other maids followed suit.

"Very well," Günter stated with an approving smile. "I'll leave you to your work."

And, with one last flourish as he shut the door behind him, the state advisor was gone.

~*~* Merry Krismass*~*~

_"What!? What's Christmas!?" Yuuri gaped, before gulping when he saw the nearly ravenous look in his tutor's eyes. Hurriedly, he took in a deep breath before he began rambling, "I didn't mean anything by that, I just, all I meant to say was that it's getting so cold here, that it feels like it should be Christmas soon. It's a holiday. I mean... all Christmas is, is a day when you give a gift to your girlfriend and go on a date, I guess. But I've never had one, so, well... yeah, I guess all I've ever done is eat a Christmas cake with my mom on Christmas Eve. Oh, well, a Christmas cake... it's just a festive cake, you know? Oh! But there are also those, um, well, in Europe I think, they have Christmas cakes where you bake a surprise into the middle somewhere. And if you get the piece with the present in it, it's super lucky! Yeah, I guess, it's only in Japan where Christmas is only celebrated so little, though..."_

~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~

The hay scattered over the ground made an odd sound that was simultaneously wet and crunching beneath Günter's otherwise pristine boot heels. He paid no mind to anything undignified about it as he practically stormed into the stables, his hair splaying out dramatically as he turned his head back and forth in search of something.

"Dacascos!" he called out as soon as he'd found his target.

The soldier-turned-manservant had been knelt at Ao's feet, cleaning off the horse's hooves. He abruptly dropped the brush he'd been using, jumped to his feet, and stood at attention. "Lord von Kleist!" he practically squeaked.

"Dacascos," Günter repeated, his voice shrill. "I have a task of utmost importance for you."

He let the statement hang in the air for a moment, during which Dacascos only trembled slightly.

"We have before us a season of great celebration and festivity," Günter proclaimed with an air of great seriousness. "And for that sake, I have charged Anissina with the creation of..."

The dramatic pause was so extended this time that Dacascos hesitantly piped in, "The creation of...?"

Pleased with the audience participation, Günter obligingly answered while raising one arm in a theatrical pose. "Krismass Lights!"

"Krismass Lights!" Dacascos repeated, his eyes wide with astonishment.

"I've just received word that she has made a breakthrough with the invention," Günter sniffed. "And I charge you with assisting her in spreading the cheer throughout the castle!"

Although he looked positively miserable at the prospect of being in direct contact with an invention of Anissina's, Dacascos obediently saluted the Lord. "Y- yes, Your Excellency!" he cried. His feet were immediately in motion, ready for the march down to the famed inventor's workshop.

"One more thing," Günter called from behind him, taking an extra stride across some stalls of horses.

Dacascos turned on one heel to face him again, falling back into salute.

"And you mustn't breathe a word of this..."

~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~

_"In other countries? It's a much bigger celebration, I guess? I don't really remember too well, but my mother says that in America while we were there, everywhere in the city was covered in Christmas lights the whole month leading up to it. Oh, Christmas lights? They're... they're these blinking strings of lights, I think they're usually either white or red and green. Oh yeah, red and green are the colors of Christmas! And everyone sings, 'Deck the Halls' and all! Um, deck the halls... it's about decorating them, with like, Christmas lights... that's all..."_

~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~

Gwendal was not having a good day. This was not a particularly rare phenomenon, in all fairness, but this day was an especially awful day. For one, as he'd been traversing the halls between the dining room and his office, he'd run into Dacascos as the man hastily flung himself from adjoining corridors not just once, but twice. On the second instance, he had stood himself back up, saluted, and informed His Excellency that Lord von Kleist requested his permission at an important meeting. Gwendal's head was already throbbing with the onset of a migraine, but nevertheless he walked at full stride through the halls again, prepared to deal with whatever nonsense Günter considered urgent. The King had gotten himself transported back to his own world again, so as the current head of the State he had a mountain of work to attend to even without the dramatic advisor's idea of pressing business.

He barely had time to blink after turning down the corridor towards Günter's office before a round object came flying right into his face, falling in an arc from the ceiling. It was so perfectly aimed that it almost seemed to be calculated. The force was not quite enough to knock him over, merely leaving him dazed for a few seconds before his vision focused again, and he got a good look at the object now hanging directly in front of his nose. It was a glowing red orb, sprinkled with little glimmering flecks of silver.

"F- forgive me, Your Excellency!" a voice that was starting to get all too familiar cried out from down the hallway. Gwendal swiped the orb from his field of vision with the back of a hand, bringing a terrified Dacascos into view. He was looking down from on top of a ladder, a similar orb clutched in his hands.

"Dacascos," Gwendal growled as he strode towards the unfortunate servant. "Anissina is responsible for this, correct?"

Although it was phrased like a question, there wasn't a hint of uncertainty in his voice. Dacascos gulped, his arms twitching as if longing to salute his superior even while they held the orb in them. "Y- yes, Your Excellency," he stuttered. "Lady von Karbelnikoff has invented this system. It's named," he paused for a second, before continuing in a higher pitched voice, "Mr. Deck-the-Halls Number 5!"

Gwendal didn't even want to know what Numbers 1 through 4 had been like. He had too many memories of Anissina shrieking "A failure!" for his liking already. "I don't have time to deal with this right now," he snarled, turning his head aside. "I'll have a word with her later."

Paying no mind to any other cries coming from the terrified servant, Gwendal hurried down the corridor. The unfortunate doors to Günter's office soon met with the tremendous force of his arms, as he flung them open and stormed in without a word. He let his glare speak for itself, as it landed on none other than Lord von Kleist himself. He didn't even have the decency to look frightened by Gwendal's ire anymore, however. In fairness, his glare did soften considerably without his consent once he noticed that little Greta was seated at the end of the council table, swinging her short legs absently. As a matter of fact, most of the important figures in the castle were present-Conrart was leaning against the wall by the back, one idle hand on the hilt of his sword, Anissina was seated beside Greta with a steaming cup of tea, Lady Cäcilie was quietly chatting with the princess from across the table, and even Wolfram, his arms crossed primly, was resting against the bookcase, pouting ever so slightly.

"Gwendal!" Günter exclaimed as soon as he'd entered. "Now that you're here, we can begin, I believe?"

There was a general murmur of assent across the room. Gwendal refused to acknowledge him at all, his brow merely twitching in annoyance.

"Very well," Günter continued, standing from his chair in one fluid motion. His hair flared about his form dramatically. "I've gathered you all here today to explain to you a very important new holiday that we will be celebrating here in Shin Makoku for the first time this year!"

"I don't recall approving this," Gwendal grumbled under his breath.

Although he spared a second to cast a glare in Gwendal's direction, Günter prattled on without otherwise acknowledging him. "We will, at the end of this moon, celebrate our first annual festival of..."

An expectant silence fell upon the room, as Günter looked around with eager eyes, hoping to see the anticipation on everyone's faces. To his disappointment, he was mostly met with ambivalence, with the exceptions of Lady Cäcilie and Greta, who actually were genuinely excited.

"_Krismass_!" he exclaimed eventually, extending one arm towards the ceiling.

"Krismass!" Cäcilie cried out, sounding delighted, her hands clapped together.

Across from her, Greta repeated, "Chris... mas?" sounding equal parts confused and enthused.

Gwendal pinched the bridge of his nose tightly, shutting his weary eyes. "And _what_," he drawled, barely even wanting to ask, "is this... Krismass?"

"Krismass," Günter annunciated, his head held up high and one finger raised, in his full tutor form, "is the annual celebration of the spirit of love and giving. It serves to warm the hearts of the people during the cold Winter months! Ah, this divine and beautiful holiday comes from nowhere else but the land of His Majesty! What else could we expect from the country that raised our monarch to be so..."

While Günter started into his proclamation of the virtues of their King, Greta raised one hand as her daddy had recently taught her to when she had a question, and spoke up, "Um..."

Fortunately, Günter noticed her hand before he had gotten beyond "charming" in his list. He broke off, clearing his throat. "Yes, Greta?"

"What do we do, to celebrate," she paused before carefully forming the foreign word, "...Krismass?"

"An excellent question," the tutor smiled benevolently. "The primary event is an exchange of gifts, naturally. You present to your beloved one a present of exceptional meaning and personal value."

"How sweet," Cäcilie exclaimed, a dreamy look in her eyes. Although he rolled his eyes when his mother cast a meaningful look at him, Wolfram had undeniably stood up a bit straighter at Günter's words. Anissina chuckled softly, her teacup pressed to her lips, before taking a sip.

A bit offended for having been interrupted, Günter coughed before continuing, "And, for your acquaintances and family members, you procure stockings as gifts. Preferably, these exchanges all take place by an open fire and a Krismass tree."

"Stockings?" Greta asked, her head quirked to one side and her brows furrowed in confusion.

"An open fire?" Wolfram asked as he leaned forward, failing at looking disinterested.

"A Krismass tree?" Anissina asked, her eyes wide with interest.

"One question at a time, please," Günter said smugly, triumphant over having finally garnered enthusiasm for his holiday. "The exchange of stockings is an ancient custom from countries unfamiliar to even His Majesty! But, I can assure you that it is a time-honored tradition, and these stockings are an honor to receive. Only the well-behaved are bestowed with anything but oil, after all."

Gwendal scoffed when he noticed the pointed look sent in his direction. "I have use for neither stockings nor oil," he stated flatly.

"I wouldn't mind getting stockings!" Greta smiled, looking down at her kicking legs contemplatively.

"I'll get you a pair that will look darling with your newest dress, dear," Cäcilie offered warmly.

Interrupting the princess's exclamation of joy, Günter addressed the room once more, "As for Krismass trees, they are also a grand Krismass tradition. A grand pine tree stands tall at the center of the festivities, and is grandly lit up by the Krismass angel!"

"The Krismass angel?" Greta repeated, sounding amazed.

Wolfram frowned. "I've heard of these... angels," he spat out, almost disdainfully.

"Oh?" Günter looked at him with surprise. "His Majesty mentioned them to you?"

"It wasn't about this Krismass nonsense," Wolfram snapped. "When he was tired once, he just said something weird about me and this angel thing."

If Conrart was smiling with just a tiny bit more secret amusement than usual, no one but Gwendal noticed. He opted not to comment. It was probably one of those incomprehensible jokes he'd picked up during his time on Earth.

"Well, we can work out the issue of the Krismass angel at a later date," Günter replied thoughtfully, looking at Wolfram almost skeptically. "I merely wanted to inform everyone of the celebration that will be held at the end of this moon, in the main ballroom. We will feast and enjoy the Krismass lights, while exchanging presents with loved ones! It is truly a holiday filled with His Majesty's benevolent love..."

While Günter continued to extoll the wonders of their monarch's heart and home, Greta thoughtfully examined her hands, which were folded properly in her lap. Her mind was working furiously. It seemed obvious to her that she'd be getting a gift for Yuuri, but she couldn't work out what her father could possibly want. He was the King, after all, so all the resources of the country were at his fingertips. Nothing that could be bought, then, she decided straight away. She'd have to make something special...

Her musings were interrupted when Gwendal bellowed, "Enough! If that is all you have to say, I vote that we all leave now."

Günter hardly reacted to being so brashly cut off, and merely gestured leisurely to indicate that everyone was free to leave his office. Greta hopped off her chair and straightened her skirts absently. Without a word to anyone, Wolfram slipped out of the room, his chin held in his hand as if he were contemplating deeply. Conrart followed soon after, lips curved into an unadorned smile. For all the haste he'd displayed to leave, Gwendal only exited after making sure that he'd sent a glare to Anissina that conveyed the message: _Do not think you are getting away with this 'Decking the Halls' trick._

"Shall we go, Greta?" Lady Cäcilie smiled down at her adopted granddaughter.

"Yeah!" Greta nodded excitedly, reaching up a hand to slip into Cäcilie's. "Who are you going to give a special present to, Granny Cäli?"

"Well, let's see..." Cäcilie's playful answer was cut off as the door closed behind the pair.

Günter looked expectantly at Anissina, the only remaining occupant besides himself. She remained seated, sipping at her tea with a faint smile. Nothing about her demeanor suggested any hurry to leave.

"Lady von Karbelnikoff...?"

When he finally spoke up, Anissina emphatically placed her teacup back down on the table. Her smile widening, she turned to him with a gleam in her eye. "We have matters to discuss... about this Krismass tree."

~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~

_"I remember now! Foreign countries are all about Santa Claus. Oh, he's, um... he's this jolly nice guy, who goes around with his reindeer to all the houses, and puts presents under the Christmas tree! We don't have Christmas trees in our houses in Japan, but my mother loves the big one in the huge square in New York. She always wants to watch it light up on the TV. Oh, Christmas trees, well... usually they're super big pine trees, I think? You know, evergreens! And you light them up around Christmas time. Yes! There's the Christmas angel that lights them up from the top, I think. Actually, I played the Christmas angel once in a school play... no, nevermind about that. It's just a foreign story about Christmas Eve, I think. Nativi... I'm not sure. Wait, reindeer? They're like deer, and they have big antlers... well, the ones with Santa can fly, but no one actually takes that seriously anymore. The presents? Well, I'm only used to the way it is in Japan, where you get them for your girlfriend or whatever... but I guess they do it differently in Europe... Oh! I think the whole family hangs stockings by the fireplace! Yeah, stockings. And if you're bad, they put coal in your stockings instead of a present. Coal? You know, like the... the fuel. No, not oil really, but... Yeah, something like that..."_

~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~


	2. The Lion of Covenant Castle

A Very Shin Makoku Krismass

Chapter Two: The Lion of Covenant Castle

The ball felt a little rough in her palm, which was just a fraction too small to hold it comfortably, but Greta liked how heavy and solid it felt, like always. She ran her fingers over the stitching idly, admiring the way the light of dusk fell across the almost perfectly spherical surface.

From a few feet away, Conrart smiled knowingly at Greta's pause and lowered his catcher's mitt. "Is something on your mind?" he inquired gently.

Greta's eyes were wide as she looked up again. She opened her mouth once before hesitating and biting her lip. Just when Conrart thought she might not be ready to talk yet, she mumbled, "Conrad, what does Yuuri like?"

"Well," Conrart started thoughtfully, slipping his mitt off and relaxing his stance. It seemed that they were done with their game of catch for the day. "He likes a whole lot of things... his precious daughter, for example."

Greta rolled her eyes and huffed, moving her hands to her hips. "Conrad," she scolded, "that's not what I meant."

"What did you mean, then?" Conrart returned, smiling playfully.

She hesitated for a long moment, reluctant to reveal her intent. "I meant like... for a present," she admitted at last.

This didn't seem to surprise her adopted uncle in the slightest. "In that case," he mused, "I believe that anything you made would make him very happy."

"That doesn't help," Greta pouted, although her cheeks colored a little with happiness. Having a family was still a new joy to her, after all. "I just don't know what to make for him!"

"There's plenty of time until Krismass," Conrart offered, and when it didn't seem to satisfy the princess, he added, "I'll let you know if I think of anything."

Reluctantly, Greta nodded, "Okay. Thanks, Conrad."

"Of course," he smiled, resting his hands against his knees as he stood from his crouching position. "Shall we call it a night, then? It's getting dark, and I believe Wolfram will be waiting with a storybook for you."

Now, Greta really didn't feel like going to bed. But, she had to admit, story time with Papa Wolfram was one of her favorite things. Truth be told, he was just a better reader than Daddy Yuuri. So, she grinned and crossed the distance to where Conrart stood, slipping one hand into his free hand and swinging the other one by her side, the baseball still clutched within. They had nearly crossed the courtyard when a thought occurred to her, and she turned her head up excitedly to look at Conrart. "Do you know what Yuuri's favorite animal is, Conrad?"

Conrart considered it for a moment before smiling. "I believe he said that he likes... white lions."

"White lions," Greta repeated, looking just a bit astonished.

"It's very like him," Conrart chuckled. After considering it for another moment, Greta nodded her agreement.

~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~

"I could use a new pair of stockings," Doria sighed, leaning her head over her shoulder to rest against the stone wall of the hallway.

Sangria nodded fervently. "I know, I know," she chirped in. "We'll need to tell the whole staff about Krismass, so we can all participate, too."

"Did Lord von Kleist say it was only for nobles?"

"No," Sangria shook her head gravely. "So, I don't see why not."

As she spoke, a glittering silver orb came flying just to the side of her face, close enough to send her hair blowing forward. She 'eeped' softly and followed Doria's lead, leaning against the wall. Fortunately, she managed to keep hold of the basket of laundry she was carrying. The two maids laughed together as she balanced her burden against the wall to free one hand in order to attempt to straighten out her hair again. In the past few days, their gossip breaks had come to double as strategizing time to learn the trajectories of the dangerous decorations Anissina had set up around the castle. When they leaned back out of the way to admire the dance of the globes, they were also actually quite beautiful and, indeed, festive. And, if someone shrieking accompanied by the sound of a crash came from somewhere far-off, it didn't do much to detract from the castle's newfound holiday cheer.

The sound of tiny little pattering feet approaching rapidly did, however, catch the chatting duo's attention.

"Princess Greta!" Doria called to her as she stopped on her heels, bending over to catch her breath. "Is something the matter?"

"I need to," Greta forced out before she needed another puff of air, "bake."

Both maids paused for a beat before sharing a smile. "What would you like to bake, Princess?"

"White lions," Greta answered, her face dead serious.

Despite herself, Doria laughed a little. Sangria looked quizzically down at the little girl. "I'm not sure... that we can do that," she put forth gently.

The determination didn't slip from Greta's face for an instant. "Cookies!" she exclaimed. "White lion cookies!"

"Hmm," Doria hummed thoughtfully. "We can talk to Effe and see what she comes up with."

Greta sucked in her lower lip, looking like she did when she had her first ever taste of Lasagna's time-tested (but bitter) herbal remedy. "No good," she shook her head. "I need to do it on my own, or it won't be special!"

The two maids looked at one another doubtfully. "Maybe with just a little supervision, then?"

Although a big reluctantly, Greta nodded her curly head of hair. "Okay. But I want to start right away!"

Smiling, Sangria and Doria nodded indulgently. The trio made their procession down the hallway, with only the princess short enough to be totally safe from the cascading decorations flying about. Doria had the feeling it was only the beginning of what would be a long day in the kitchens.

~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~

If this continued any longer, Gwendal was going to stride over there and give the little girl a hug. Greta had been sitting at the long table in his office, her shoulders hunched and her lips downturned into a gloomy pout, for roughly half of an hour. She had quite politely asked if it was alright for her to sit there, but had remained reticent when it came to the cause of her misery. This time, when he shot his eyes up from the official form he was barely concentrating on anymore to sneak a glance at her, Greta's big brown eyes were looking right back at him.

"Gwendal," she cried, "I'm a failure."

Her pathetic tone and eyes swimming with tears had an effect akin to that of a physical blow on Gwendal. Shocked and dismayed, his mouth simply hung open for a long moment. "That's not," he croaked awkwardly, before clearing his throat and trying again, "That's not true."

"It is!" Greta practically shouted, jumping off of her perch on the chair, which was very much too tall for her. "I'm not good for anything. I can't even bake a cookie on my own!"

That hadn't exactly been what Gwendal was expecting, either. His mouth worked soundlessly as he struggled to formulate a response. "Baking is very difficult," he stated flatly, although he had all the good intentions in the world. "That's why we have professionals to do it for us. Of course your first try was not perfect."

Greta bit her lip in silent defiance. She lasted a good minute or two before crying out, "It's not just that! I'm no good at anything."

His heart absolutely broken by the adorable little girl's practically tearful face, Gwendal could do nothing but shake his head silently. His expression remained as stoic as usual, but for his widened eyes.

For the first time in a long while, Gwendal felt deeply grateful when Anissina carelessly flung open his door and strode in.

"Gwendal!" she hollered immediately, before turning her head towards him and taking in the scene currently taking place. "Oh, and Princess Greta."

Hearing the voice of her unofficial Auntie and role model, Greta turned her head, her eyes swimming with tears. "Anissina!" she cried, hiccupping.

"Is Gwendal giving you a hard time?" Anissina inquired without hesitation, narrowing her eyes.

Gwendal's mouth snapped shut, his brows furrowing. His old worry lines were back immediately. "Of course not," he grumbled.

"Anissina," Greta repeated sadly, ignoring their exchange. "I can't do anything right. All I wanted was to make something perfect for Yuuri for Chri… Kristmass, but I kept on messing up, and then I thought I finally got it right… but then I found out that Effe had just made a perfect cookie and switched it out with mine when I wasn't looking!" She was sobbing by the time her story was done tumbling out from her lips.

While Gwendal sat totally paralyzed from the trauma of seeing the adorable girl crying, Anissina stepped closer before kneeling and reaching out to run a hand over her curly locks. "Greta," she murmured soothingly, "you know that's not true. You're a girl-and an exceptional one at that. You can do anything you set your mind to. It just takes determination and strength."

Greta's eyes were dry as she nodded, but her lip was quivering faintly.

"You know what," Anissina smirked as she stood up again, determined gaze settling on Gwendal, "you can already do one thing I know of better than this useless old man here."

Gwendal's eyebrow twitched in irritation, but he opted not to comment if he was being used as a tool to make Greta feel better.

"What?" Greta questioned, her eyes wide with astonishment at the idea.

Anissina beamed proudly. "Knitting!"

Although Gwendal was busily attempting to push out the knots in his strained forehead muscles behind her, Greta jumped a little with a huge smile spread on her face. "That's right!" she exclaimed, looking up at Anissina like she was a dazzling star. "That's exactly it! I can knit Yuuri a big white lion!"

"A white lion," Anissina repeated, nodding. Her eyes shone with pride. "That's a wonderful idea. Let me help you pick out the perfect yarn!"

"Oh, thank you, Anissina!"

Gwendal could do nothing but watch the pair exit his office, Anissina striding with her usual confident air and Greta trotting along with a bounce in her step. Although he felt ignored, he was also legitimately relieved, the more he thought about it. One, Greta was sufficiently cheered up. Two, Anissina had left without even stating the business she had come for (which, in all probability, would have ended with Gwendal strapped to some monstrous invention of hers).

His hopes were dashed as, just before she closed the door, Anissina poked her head back in and mouthed the words, "_I'll be back_."

At the very least, he had some time to prepare a last will. It was more than he could say of most days.

~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~

One stitch at a time. One stitch after another.

That was Greta's mantra as she steadily knitted away. She'd talked over her ambitious plans for the big white lion with Anissina, and procured the loveliest, softest white yarn in the castle, along with two big, black and shiny buttons for the eyes. It was her biggest project ever, but the lion's head, with a curly mane and all, was already coming together. She positively couldn't wait to present it to her father. It was just perfect for him, especially with the big black eyes. Her legs kicked out beneath her with a sudden burst of energy, sending the tablecloth billowing inwards.

Greta's diligent work was only interrupted when a soft voice came from behind her. "Still hard at work, I see."

She turned to see Gisela standing at the doorway with a big smile. It would be a lie to say that Greta was always happy to see the castle's top healer, not when sometimes that meant having to drink bitter medicine, but she did really like talking with her. Gisela was one of her favorite adults, because she was nice but never let anyone push her around. "Yup!" Greta nodded, sending her curly hair bouncing. She'd become a bit infamous in the past week, as she'd been wandering about the castle and settling in different places to work. With her collection of supplies, the little princess could easily end up in the way of whatever work was about, however, so she found herself looking for the most inconspicuous places possible. She was currently in the dining room in between mealtimes. She figured it would be a while until the maids needed to put down the dishes and set the table, so she'd be safe for a good time.

Gisela took a seat opposite her, careful to stay out of the way of the extensive yarn. It was certainly going to be a big lion. "I'm getting my father a present for Krismass, too, you know," she whispered, as if divulging a big secret.

"Really?" Greta asked, her eyes bright with curiosity. "What are you going to get old Günter?"

It always made Gisela chuckle to hear the shockingly impolite ways Greta would come up with to refer to their country's top officials. "I'm making him a special potion, actually," she spoke while glancing about secretively. "He has an old habit of working himself into a frenzy, especially when His Majesty is around. This one's an old, rare remedy to help you relax."

Greta giggled, picturing how Günter flung himself around the castle, his cries of "Your Majesty!" reverberating through the halls. "That sounds great." She kicked her feet some more, watching the needles bob up and down as she knitted away. The lion smiled back at her. "I wonder what everyone else is making."

"Hmm," Gisela joined her in her musing with a playful smile. "I've heard some interesting rumors about that going around."

"Really?" Greta looked up, excited. "Like what?"

Gisela hemmed and hawed for a few seconds, pretending to debate divulging the information, before continuing, "They say that Lord von Voltaire is making something for Lady von Karbelnikoff."

Greta gasped loudly. "No way!" she exclaimed before smiling. "I knew Gwendal was just a big softie! But..."

"But?" Gisela repeated when Greta hesitated.

"I wonder if Anissina feels the same way."

"I wonder," Gisela nodded. "Now, I've only heard this from Sangria when I gave her a check-up yesterday, to be fair. It could just be the usual castle gossip."

"Mm," Greta hummed thoughtfully before the words sunk in. She dropped her knitting immediately and moved to hop down from her chair, but Gisela's hand had already crossed the table and covered her own. "Oh no," she gasped.

"Oh, yes," Gisela smiled, but her eyebrows were set in firm determination. "It's check-up time, Princess."

Greta whined quietly, her bottom lip trembling a little. She hated check-up time.

Gisela retracted her hand, but Greta knew better than to try running off again. The healer nodded in approval. "You can finish your row."

Although with a great sigh, Greta inclined her head in acceptance and picked up her knitting needles again.

~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~

Wolfram had had a very long day. The castle had ascended to even higher levels of insanity ever since the introduction of Günter's Krismass holiday, to the point that even walking through the hallways was a dangerous activity. To be fair, the decking globes had yet to injure anyone they'd impacted, but they'd left all their victims positively covered in glitter, from what he'd heard. The absolute last thing Wolfram needed was the shame of being seen walking around the halls shimmering with the silver stuff. He'd probably gain a new nickname, "Wolfram the Glimmering," or something equally ridiculous. The castle staff had far too much idle time. On top of that, he'd been working hard to keep his efforts towards his gift as discrete as possible, which was a truly laborious task thanks to precisely the same castle staff, with their constantly peeking eyes. They were positively fiendish, particularly when it came to his romantic endeavors towards their monarch. Honestly, it was as if they weren't already engaged!

His mind raveled up in such thoughts, Wolfram barely ducked under a particularly low-swinging globe, a red one with a rather impressively detailed silver snowflake pattern sprinkled over it in glitter. Although he was quite pleased with the object as an artist, he still sighed as he pushed open the doors to his room. Well, properly it was considered the King's room, but he and their daughter were currently the only occupants. Günter's plan to have Ulrike summon Yuuri back for the occasion was the most exciting prospect of this whole Krismass fiasco for him; the months while the King remained on Earth (undoubtedly flirting with everything in sight) made time seem long as it never had before.

He was pleased to find that Greta was already seated on the massive bed, in her nightgown and everything. It was rare for her to be so promptly settled down. She'd normally wait until he arrived, bouncing on the luxurious mattress, and only agree to lie down if he'd tell her a story or teach her something new. He smiled proudly; his daughter had her father's inquisitive soul, that was for sure.

"Greta," he greeted her warmly, already feeling relieved of the day's stress.

Much to his surprise, she jumped and shifted a little. Most likely contrary to her intent, the movement caused the sheet to fall away, revealing yarn spilling over the bed. He stepped closer, and an object came into view from behind Greta. It was a huge, knitted creation, and if he wasn't mistaken, it was an exceptionally palely colored lion. Wolfram blinked, dumbfounded. Its curly mane and big black button-eyes were adorable. It only seemed to be missing hind legs.

"I'm sorry!" Greta cried, gathering up the yarn from around her. "It's just that I'm almost done, and I knew it was bed time, but I really didn't want to stop working. I promise not to leave any on the bed!"

Wolfram was too amazed and proud to be upset about that. "No," he shook his head, "It's alright, as you long as you clean up soon so that we can sleep."

Greta breathed a huge sigh of relief, and her hands went back to busily knitting away.

Eager to get a closer look at his daughter's creation, Wolfram crossed over and sat on the edge of the bed beside her without bothering to get changed out of his uniform first. Tentatively, he reached out a hand to touch one of the curly strands of the mane. It bounced, and he retracted his hand, his mouth hanging open in amazement. "Greta, this is wonderful," he stated with authority, but affection shone through his tone.

Her cheeks colored pink with pleasure, Greta beamed. "Thanks," she answered without stopping her work. "It's for Yuuri... for Ch, Krismass."

Although he briefly wondered why she could never seem to say Krismass right on the first try, Wolfram nodded. "He'll love it," he murmured as he absently stroked the back. It felt nice and soft, like only the creations his elder brother had tried extra hard to make for him as a child.

"Say, Wolfram," Greta started after a few moments when just the soft sound of her needles clicking filled the silence, "what are you getting for Yuuri?"

Wolfram's mouth opened, and then closed. A minute passed. He looked guiltily into the big black buttons on the lion to avoid his daughter's eyes. "Well," he muttered, "I don't want to tell anyone just yet."

Greta frowned. She then resorted to a pout, her big brown eyes boring into Wolfram relentlessly.

Wolfram almost gave in. He wasn't very strong against wide puppy eyes, after all. But, this was something he considered of primary importance. "How about this?" he smiled apologetically at her. "You'll be the absolute first to know, before even Yuuri himself."

Greta liked that idea, even if she couldn't share in the fun secret right away. "Okay!" she nodded.

He had a hard time convincing her, but eventually Wolfram managed to get Greta to put down her needles and get to sleep. She'd be done in one more day, and the month was hardly half over.

~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~

"I don't know, Wolf," Cäcilie muttered, her bright red lips pouting as she focused her attention on the parchment covering the desk.

"Mother," Wolfram whined, although he would have starkly denied that it was a whine if questioned. His hands were perched pointedly on his hips. "It needs to be like that, though, or it won't mean anything."

With a flick of her palm, Cäcilie sent an errant long blonde curl back over her shoulder. "I'll need to try a few things out."

Although he still looked reluctant, Wolfram nodded. "Yes. I'll do some more research, as well," he exhaled deeply, running a hand through his hair.

"It wouldn't do to have your mommy take care of everything, after all," Cäcilie giggled. "Not when it comes to el, oh, vee-"

"Mother!" Wolfram yelled, cutting her off. His cheeks were stained a deep crimson.

"Oh, come now, Wolf," she crooned. "You can talk about this kind of stuff with your mother! I'm always looking out for my babies, you know that. And, like I always say, you're already doing better than either of your older brothers..."

His face still flaming, Wolfram slammed his palms down on the wooden surface of the desk. "Mother!" he repeated, louder this time.

Before Cäcilie could embarrass her son any further, the door creaked open just slightly from behind him. A little voice drifted in. "Lady Cäli?"

"Greta, dear!" Cäcilie called out boisterously, motioning although the door still separated them. "Do come in, please."

Despite the permission, Greta still looked a bit sheepish as she poked her head around the door and stepped inside. She'd been taught to be very careful to make sure it was alright to enter Cäcilie's quarters, thanks to her rather brazen manner of bursting into almost any other room. No one wanted the precious little princess to see anything she really would be better off learning about once she was a good deal older.

"Greta," Wolfram nodded, a rather curt greeting that doubled as a parting. "I'll see you tonight, okay?"

He had brushed past the door already by the time Greta chirped back, "Okay, Wolfram!"

While Greta was busy puzzling over Wolfram's rather odd behavior, Cäcilie swiftly wrapped up the parchment they'd been pouring over, and shifted it to the side of the desk. She then beamed at Greta. "What brings me the joy of your company today, dear?"

Greta smiled wide in return. She loved being around Granny Cäli. The warm and motherly woman always made her feel happy and loved. "Well, actually, I was wondering... if you could help me out with something."

"And what would that be?" Cäcilie asked with a knowing glimmer in her eyes. Greta wasn't the first to come to her in the wake of Günter's announcement, after all.

Greta bit her lip gently, her eyes shifting around. "It's about my present for Yuuri."

"Ooh," Cäcilie leaned forward. "I've heard all about how hard you've been working."

"Really?" Greta's eyes opened wide in amazement. Her cheeks colored a little, too, at the idea that people were talking about her like that.

"Of course," Cäcilie nodded, sending one of her blonde curls back over her shoulder. She didn't bother fixing it. "Everyone's said it's coming out wonderfully."

Greta lowered her face to hide her huge grin. "Well," she muttered, "I finished the knitting part. But..."

Cäcilie tilted her head quizzically. "But...?"

"I feel like it's missing something," Greta confessed, lifting up her head to look into Cäcilie's warm green eyes.

Humming thoughtfully, Cäcilie put a single slim finger to her lips. "Now, from what I heard, it's a lion, correct?"

Greta nodded. "Well... I was thinking..." she hesitated, sheepishly twirling one of her baby curls with a finger. "I thought he might look nicer with a pretty collar..."

Although she looked surprised, Cäcilie quickly smiled. "That's a great idea!" she exclaimed, standing up. "And you've come to just the right person. I can help you find a lovely collar for him."

Greta cheered, bouncing on her heels a little. "Thanks, Granny Cäli!" she cried happily.

Cäcilie took the girl's little hand in her own as an answer, starting to lead them out of the room as she chattered, "Now, what sort of stone were you thinking would look nice?"

As the door closed behind her, Greta shyly answered, "Well, I thought maybe... emerald..."

~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~

Krismass, Josak approximated, was the best holiday ever created.

At the very least, it was the best spectacle Shin Makoku had as of yet. When he'd come back from his latest assignment and started off down the halls to report to Lord von Voltaire, and he'd wound up with a mysterious globe in his face, his whole upper half positively saturated with glitter, he'd known right away that whatever was going down, was exactly the kind of thing he went for. With the excess glitter brushed off, he'd looked positively dazzling for the rest of the day, too. The maids even giggled extra hard when he winked at them as he passed. He couldn't have been in a better mood. He'd gotten the low-down on Krismass from Conrart, and found it only got better. The real treasure of the festive spirit was even better than the dance of sparkling globes decking the hallways; he got to spend a whole month watching everyone trying to discretely prepare the flashiest presents possible for their chosen beloved. The gossip material was insane.

Sangria had passed him a tip about Lord von Bielefeld's wily ways earlier that day. The bratty prince was being particularly slippery when it came to discovering his plans, much to Josak's surprise. It was close to hurting his pride as a spy. Even the latest development, that evidently Lady Cäcilie was in on it, had ended up falling through. He'd brought in a bottle of wine and sat down for a long chat, but the former Queen did indeed hold her alcohol admirably well. She didn't say a peep about the plans for the grand present once he slipped it into the conversation. With Cäcilie's lips sealed, that left no one to interrogate but Wolfram himself, and Josak didn't feel like losing the tips of his hair to errant fireballs. He quite liked how it had been growing out lately, in fact.

Conrart was being his usual secretive self about the matter, as well. As much as he would have liked to pretend that it was because the present might be for him, Josak didn't doubt for a second that it was for His Majesty. A little extra spying, which the experienced soldier undoubtedly knew about and had simply allowed, confirmed his suspicions. He was heading into town, seemingly wandering through randomly and stopping into homes. It wasn't quite enough intel to reveal the identity of the present, but he knew that on the off chance it was for him, he would have seen his old friend stopping into his favorite tailor's place.

The rest of the castle's inhabitants, to Josak's relief, were not quite so intent on concealing their endeavors. Or, if they were, they simply weren't very skilled at keeping secrets. Greta, the little dear, had been all about the castle with her over-sized ball of yarn. He'd watched with no small degree of amazement as the yarn took shape over the days into the cutest knitted toy he'd seen around the castle (although, in fairness, a large majority of the ones about were Gwendal's creations). The last time he'd caught sight of her treasured creation, the little guy was even sporting a luxurious black collar with an emerald glistening in the center. It was really an impressively sweet gesture, and it would surely remind the King of his most treasured friends, although Greta possibly didn't even understand the significance of the lion. Well, he certainly hoped she hadn't caught wind of many war stories. Meanwhile, he'd overheard Gisela chatting with the head gardener, and it seemed that she was cooking up something for her father, as well. Anissina's present, whoever it was for, didn't seem to be distinguishable from her usual fare. No one really needed to ask whom Günter had chosen, of course, although the exact present was a mystery. The Lord was in such a frenzy over Krismass in general that no activity of his seemed particularly suspect at this point.

So basically, the only presents people knew about so far were the less juicy ones. He had been betting on Lord von Bielefeld's present involving silk sheets and rose petals, and he wasn't sure whether the news of Lady Cäcilie's involvement strengthened or weakened that possibility. Himself, he was half tempted to gift Conrart some lacey lingerie and pass it off as a joke. He had to chuckle even just picturing it. Contrary to his demeanor most of the time, there were moments when even Conrart lost his composure, and Josak prided himself on being able to pull ridiculous enough stunts to create said moments. His only competition was the young King, really.

A crash from below him shook Josak out of his musings. He was perched on the roof of the stables, one of his favorite places just to relax and feel the wind over his cheeks. He preferred the tops of towers back in the castle, but last time Lasagna had caught him up there, she'd nearly had a heart attack and forbidden him from putting his life at risk like that. Beneath him, Dacascos seemed to be struggling under a massive burden. Casting an eye about the scene, Josak spotted what he suspected to be the origin of the crashing noise. What appeared to be a massive, twining branch had fallen from the burlap sack poor Dacascos had slung over his shoulder. His whole body was hunched over under the weight, and his face was twisted into an expression of such despair that it would have been heart breaking if it had not been so comical. Josak snorted.

"Oh, Lord von Kleist is going to be so angry if he finds out..." He heard Dacascos muttering, his chest heaving in a deep sigh.

Although he enjoyed many a chuckle on the other's behalf, Josak was not a man without human empathy. He'd surely slide down from the roof and help the unfortunate soldier out-in a minute.

~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~

Greta stared searchingly into the black depths before her.

They stared right back, unblinking.

Her big brown eyes did eventually need to close, but they were back open again in a flash. She frowned in concentration. Several long moments passed of the intense stare-down, with neither party budging an inch. The woolen lion was still smiling at her just as it always been, ever since she'd knitted in its mouth. At last, Greta gave a long grumble out of sheer frustration.

"What's missing?" she pondered aloud, moving her stare to focus on the lovely collar now adorning the lion's proud mane. It was truly eye-catching, perhaps more expensive than could ever be justified for a toy. But something still felt incomplete about her present. Frowning deeply, Greta reached out her short arms to grab hold of her creation, lifting it up to place it on one of her shelves where she kept her storybooks and knitting projects. It still felt so pleasantly odd to have her own little spaces dedicated to her stuff. When she placed the big lion on the relatively narrow shelf, however, it jostled a stack of books above it, and knocked over her other favorite knitted creation-the likeness of Yuuri she'd managed to make-sending him flopping right down onto the lion's back.

Greta gasped, her eyes wide in amazement. "That's it!" she exclaimed, taking up the little knitted doll and adjusting him to a more suitable riding position. "That's what it's missing!"

She smiled widely, clutching the pair in her little hands. No, she decided after studying them for another moment-there was still one thing missing before the present would be complete. And she knew exactly what it was.


	3. T'was the Night Before Krismass

A Very Shin Makoku Krismass

Chapter Three: T'was the Night Before Krismass

There was water up his nose again.

That was all Yuuri could think about for a moment as his head spun idly, before the usual thought occurred to him: _Star Tours again_. It wasn't quite so exhilarating anymore, but he did wonder if anything urgent was going on in Shin Makoku. It hadn't felt like he'd been back for very long, but surely enough he'd been on his way through the park when a freak accident involving a small child and a puppy had ended with him face-first in the fountain. He wondered if it was Ulrike or that Shin'ou guy who was the one with the odd sense of humor, always making the weirdest things happen to drop him back in Shin Makoku. Before he had time to come to any conclusions, however, he felt the water drain from around him as his nose poked up into the open air. He lifted his head and gasped in a big breath.

"Yuuri!" a familiar voice called out from nearby, and when he blinked Yuuri spotted Wolfram standing just to the side of the fountain he'd wound up in. From the looks of the gardens surrounding them, he was actually in Covenant Castle this time, and not the Temple of Shin'ou. That, at least, was a relief. He never felt comfortable around all the beautiful priestesses who gave him looks that made him feel funny.

Speaking of such looks, Wolfram was still beaming at him from dry land, so he lifted a hand in a lazy wave. "Hey," he grinned foolishly, still half lying in the fountain water.

Wolfram's mouth twitched into what was probably going to be a goofy smile before promptly opening to shout, "What kind of greeting is that for your fiancée after so long!?"

It was a routine they didn't necessarily need to play out in full anymore. Conrad stepped in from the other side of the fountain, a towel draped over one arm. "Welcome back, Your Majesty."

Yuuri was starting to wonder if Shin Makoku was just frozen in time, and that was why his friends always reacted the same way to his arrival. He stumbled up from the shallow water, shaking his head and reaching to accept the towel. "It's Yuuri," he answered dutifully before turning back to Wolfram, "and I wasn't gone for very long."

Wolfram looked stumped for a second before he muttered, "It's been a long month."

"Hm?" Yuuri hummed quizzically, casting a curious glance to Conrad as well. "Did something happen?"

"Well," Conrad answered carefully, just the faintest of smiles on his lips, "I would say that something _is_ happening."

"Oh no!" Yuuri cried, his toweling off taking on a sense of urgency. "What is it this time? Not an invasion on the borderlands? The Kohi staged a coup? Anissina took over and made it illegal to be male?"

"Nothing like that," Conrad chuckled.

Beside him, Wolfram huffed quietly, shaking his head at his fiancée's ridiculous thoughts. "Günter said you were the one who told him about it," he snapped. "It's Krismass." He said the word with no small amount of venom.

"Kris... mass?" Yuuri repeated, his brows furrowed in confusion. The gears turned in his head for a long moment before his eyes opened wide, and he exclaimed, "Oh! Christmas!"

"Yes," Wolfram spat out as he crossed his arms over his chest. "The entire castle has been suffering under all the Krismass cheer."

"It's Christmas," Yuuri piped in.

"That's what I said!" Wolfram retorted with confused ire.

Satisfied with his state of dryness, Yuuri maneuvered the towel to drape over his shoulders. "It does still feel like December temperatures here, I guess. That makes sense. But Christmas is a happy thing! Although I have heard of people who hate it, but then again there are people who hate every holiday."

"I don't know how anyone can like it."

"It's not so bad," Conrad interjected calmly. "The castle has just gotten a bit more hectic than usual."

Wolfram snorted, and promptly turned on his heel to head back inside.

"Ah, Wolfram!" Yuuri called after him, but when he showed no signs of stopping, turned to his godfather with a sigh. "So that's really all that's going on?"

"Primarily," Conrad nodded. "I believe Wolfram's just a bit stressed out. Then again, everyone is. There's been quite the panic over Krismass gifts."

"Christmas," Yuuri repeated. Then, as the implications of Conrad's statement settled in, his face fell. "Wait, no way! Everyone's getting gifts for each other? I don't have anything! Is today Christmas!?"

"Tomorrow," Conrad said with a chuckle. "Don't worry about it. No one expects one from you. You're the King, after all."

Yuuri let out a long sigh. "I guess that's way too soon to find something for everyone," he mourned. "Ah! I'd better go after Wolfram. I've got to tell him that I don't need a present or anything."

Although he politely covered his mouth with a hand, Conrad undeniably outright laughed. "I wouldn't do that," he advised even as Yuuri set off toward the entrance. He dutifully followed a few paces behind, his footsteps light with amusement. Of the three, at least he seemed to be feeling some holiday cheer.

The guards, who had just relaxed slightly after the doors closed behind Wolfram, scrambled to open them again for the King. They saluted nervously as he flashed them smiles before striding in. Yuuri just managed to open his mouth to call after Wolfram when something caught his eye, and then his vision was all silver for a second before he felt a sharp impact dead-on against his face. Next thing he knew, his butt was planted firmly on the carpet of the back entrance hall. And to top it off, his mouth was full of something. Bewildered, he spat some of it out, only to find a poof of silver glitter spreading through the air. He promptly coughed the rest out, sweating nervously.

"What in the..." he spoke once he finally could, and looked up to see the innocuous silver globe swinging above him, right on level with where his head had just been. Scanning the hallway, he spotted several similar balls tracing their paths across the hallways. "A new castle defense system...?" he pondered out loud.

From behind him, Conrad chuckled. "Close," he answered. "Anissina's Krismass decorations."

Although his head was still spinning a bit, Yuuri had to laugh at that. "It's very like her, I guess. So this is why everybody's crazy about Krismass?"

Conrad hesitated before replying, "Some of it."

Yuuri's day had barely even yet begun, and he hardly knew what awaited him for the rest of it.

~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~

Yuuri's eyes felt heavy, and his vision was too bleary to see much when he forced his lids open just that tiny first bit. Everything was bright. Morning's first few rays were peeking out from behind the curtains, which had been left slightly open. Why was he awake again? The birds wouldn't even be calling for a good hour or so, it looked like. Oh. Someone was shaking his shoulder.

"Yuuri," he heard someone whisper from beside him.

Sleepily, he tossed his head in the direction of the voice. He saw big green eyes blinking at him from under a head of radiant blonde hair. "Not ready," he mumbled, "to go to the angels yet..."

"Will you stop with that!?" the voice sounded angry now, and that was enough to wake Yuuri up to the extent that he realized the person he was looking at was Wolfram.

"Wolf," he sighed, blinking a few extra times. "Did something happen?"

"No," Wolfram smiled and leaned back, satisfied that Yuuri was awake. "I just have something I need to show you."

"It can't wait?" Yuuri whined, flopping an arm over his eyes.

"It can't!" Wolfram snapped.

Yuuri heard the mattress shifting, and that was all the signal that he needed to roll away and get up as soon as possible. After the previous day's tribulations, the last thing he needed were more sores. "Okay, okay!" he cried. "I'm going!"

Wolfram's smile was one of pure victory as he watched Yuuri stumble around in the faint light to find his uniform. When he turned to the mirror, squinting as he attempted to get his bangs in control, Wolfram decided he'd had enough. Striding forward, he grabbed Yuuri's wrist and urged him along. "You didn't forget what day it is today, did you?"

The look of blank confusion on his face gave away the answer. "Oh!" Yuuri started after a moment's contemplation while his brain sprinted to catch up with his sudden awakening. "It's Christmas!"

"Correct," Wolfram nodded, hurrying the both of them along and turning away to hide a small smile.

The guards straightened their backs abruptly when the doors to the King's chamber came flying open, but they relaxed upon seeing Lord von Bielefeld guiding their bewildered sovereign out of the room. The pair were down the hall before long, Yuuri stumbling a little to keep up. He was seriously starting to wonder just where Wolfram was taking him before he started to recognize their turns. They were entering a less frequently traversed area of the castle, but Yuuri thought he remembered it had a side exit to part of the gardens. And, surely enough, Wolfram let go of him right in front of the door. He turned to look back at Yuuri for a second, his lip twisted in what almost looked like an expression of nervousness. Yuuri opened his mouth to say something, but Wolfram turned back to push the door open before he had the chance. He followed outside quizzically.

"Merry Krismass," Wolfram spoke softly, his voice warm with emotion.

He stepped aside from in front of Yuuri, revealing an addition to the garden-a circular patch of low-growing plants sporting black leaves heavy with tiny but plump dark berries. They were adorned in the center by a miniature silver fountain that gleamed in the early morning light, its centerpiece a carefully carved interpretation of the sun itself. Little streams of water jetted out intermittently, making a soft murmuring in the otherwise silent garden. Yuuri stared with his mouth hanging open at the ornate little garden, tucked away in a corner of the larger grounds. He'd never seen a plant like the odd black shrub before, and it looked stunning with the bright silver fountain to offset it. It would have been hard, even with his sleepy head, to miss the symbolism, between the color and the sun. His lip trembled just a tiny bit as he turned to Wolfram, who was shifting nervously by now after so much silence.

All he could manage to do was blink for a second and stare as Wolfram looked increasingly uncomfortable under his gaze. He took a few steps forward. Wolfram moved his arms, which had been crossed over his chest anxiously, to his sides, as if preparing to fight or flee. When he was right in front of Wolfram, Yuuri finally seemed to remember what it was one ought to say upon receiving presents. "Thanks, Wolf," he beamed, with one of his impossibly wide and sincere smiles.

Wolfram coughed awkwardly, his cheeks dusted with red. "There's nothing to thank me for," he mumbled, before annunciating more clearly, "After all, this is the least you should expect as a Krismass present from your dedicated fiancée!"

Yuuri laughed, only because it was such a very typically Wolfram response. Maybe he didn't mind receiving it from one fiancée to another, if it was such a thoughtful present. He imagined Greta would absolutely love it, too. "Yeah, yeah," he answered cheekily, but he reached forward and took Wolfram's hand into his own. It wasn't really an exceptional gesture on its own, considering that as a close friend of his, they wound up touching an awful lot just because of his nature, but something about it seemed just a little different now in a way that Yuuri wasn't quite ready to name. He felt his face heat up a little as he mumbled, "Merry Christmas."

Wolfram's surprised smile quickly melted into one of the most contented looks he'd ever seen on the bratty prince's unfairly handsome face. They just stayed like that for a moment, before Wolfram broke the silence again. "Don't you want to go say that to your daughter, too?"

"Eh?" Yuuri's mouth hung open for what felt like the tenth time just that morning. "Greta? Where is she?" He felt like the worst father in the world for failing to notice that she hadn't been between the two of them anymore when Wolfram had woken him up.

Yuuri was just starting to panic a little when Wolfram's sigh interrupted him. "Come, you'll see."

Again, Wolfram tugged Yuuri by their already linked hands to guide him down the path, carefully circling around the miniature garden. Ahead, there was a rather high wall of carefully pruned bushes with stones edging it off. Wolfram abruptly let go of Yuuri's hand and dropped to his hands and knees. He turned back only to motion for Yuuri to follow before ducking his head and crawling right into the bushes. For a good few seconds, Yuuri only stared in amazement at what he'd just witnessed Wolfram, prim and proper Wolfram, do. Eventually, though, he shook his head and followed suit, squinting his eyes shut as the little green leaves parted to make way for him.

When he came out the other side, he found the walls had segued off a little patch of grass, where someone had set up a high table and three chairs. Greta was perched atop the farthest one, her little legs dangling and kicking alternatively. She smiled down at her fathers as they crawled out. "Merry Krismass!" she exclaimed, hopping up and down in her seat.

Yuuri laughed at her show of enthusiasm as he stood up and brushed some stray twigs off his pant legs. "Merry Christmas, Greta!"

Wolfram frowned beside him, busily brushing tiny leaves from his previously perfectly arranged hair.

"Did you like 'The Maou's Sweet Love'?" Greta asked with an all too wide smile.

Yuuri threw his head back, astonished. "Eh?" he turned to Wolfram in his confusion, and found that he had turned bright red.

"The... the plant," Wolfram choked out, not looking either of them in the eye. "Mother insisted that I let her name the plant, since she helped me breed it... and she chose that name."

"O- oh," Yuuri laughed awkwardly, a hand raised to the back of his head. "Well, I think they're lovely!"

"I thought you would," Greta giggled, swinging her legs back and forth happily.

"Aren't you hungry, Yuuri?" Wolfram interjected before the questioning could go any further, his cheeks still a bit colored.

It was only then that Yuuri noticed that a dainty little breakfast was laid out on the table in front of Greta. Oh, and that he was indeed quite hungry. He smiled widely and ran over to plop down into one of the seats beside her, while Wolfram seated himself more carefully across the table. The little muffins and splotches of jam looked perfect, adorable, and somehow even Christmas-y. Yuuri was amazed that the kitchen staff had been able to capture the Christmas spirit, when he thought there wasn't anything like it in Shin Makoku before. But, the red and green jam (he hoped it was apple flavored or something) decorating the plate looked like something out of a cooking magazine. "Let's eat!" Yuuri nodded before promptly setting in, munching on one of the mini-muffins with enthusiasm.

Perhaps just out of the holiday spirit, Wolfram didn't even chastise him for his lack of manners as they enjoyed their meal as a family.

~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~

Yuuri hardly had time to blink before the tall chair was pushed in behind him. It was a special red, cushiony chair that he could only vaguely recall using before. The whole dining room was dressed up, too, with still versions of Anissina's sparkling globes. It was really quite something. Once he'd made sure the King was properly seated, Günter immediately flew off, his lavender hair streaming behind him, to go see to another aspect of the meal's preparation.

Now that he finally had some time to breathe, Yuuri looked around the table and caught Conrad's eye. He smiled back at his godfather, albeit a bit tiredly. Günter was really going all out for Christmas. Fortunately, the maids looked even more cheerful than usual as they bustled back and forth from the kitchen. He heard Wolfram sigh a little from beside him, and sneaked a look out of the corner of his eye. Yuuri still felt that cheer from the morning, but he was also a little embarrassed over the whole gift thing. They'd managed to spend about an hour as a family, just enjoying playing with their daughter, before Conrad had found them and warned that Günter was on a rampage and he'd find them soon enough. Yuuri didn't bother wondering how Conrad had managed to find them.

Greta giggled from his other side, and Yuuri looked sheepishly to see the she was, indeed, looking between her shy parents with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Trust her to know when something was up. Yuuri pouted at her. A girl her age shouldn't be more in-tune to his feelings than he usually was!

The low chatter tapered off as Günter strode back into the room, clapping his hands a few times to gather everyone's attention. He cleared his throat for extra effect before announcing, "Merry Krismass, everyone! It's now time for our first celebration of the day... the eating of the Krismass cake!"

Yuuri practically fell forward into the table. Suddenly, it clicked where Günter had found out about Christmas. He himself was the culprit! He'd told Günter about Christmas, and Christmas cake in particular, to dally during one of his lessons! But how in the world had he managed to get Christmas cake here?

Yuuri's question was answered as Effe stepped into the room, wheeling a big tray with several cakes on it. They were all perfectly round, topped with shockingly bright red frosting. The tops were decorated with spindly, delicate snowflakes that looked like fancy sugar. Yuuri had to admit it looked delicious, although they were quite different from Japanese Christmas cakes. Günter must have simply guessed as best he could, or made Effe come up with something. The little maid smiled as she plopped one of the cakes down on the table, sliding it forward towards the King. Lasagna poked around from behind him, leaning in between him and Greta to transplant slices to plates. Yuuri smiled reassuringly as she pushed one in front of him.

"And once His Majesty's taken the first bite and given his approval, we'll have the start of our beautiful Krismass tradition," Günter crooned, still standing at the end of the table.

Chuckling awkwardly under everyone's gaze, Yuuri picked up the little fork that was for desserts, as Günter had finally managed to drill into his head after all his time in Shin Makoku. "Thanks for the meal," he grinned as he partitioned off a forkful of the cake, which was green on the inside. He'd have assumed it would be stomach-turningly awful if he hadn't experienced enough of Effe's creations to have total faith in her ability to make anything delicious. And, as he popped the fork into his mouth and chewed experimentally, he found it was, indeed, quite tasty. It didn't exactly taste like a typical cake, since it was heavily fruity, but it was delicious nonetheless. As he swallowed, Yuuri nodded his head enthusiastically, and Günter applauded.

"Then, with His Majesty's blessing, may we all dig in!" he announced dramatically, pulling the final chair aside to seat himself at last.

Everyone chorused in succession before taking their first bites. Greta cried out in delighted approval soon after, and everyone munched away on the colorful cake. Yuuri was finding Christmas in Shin Makoku to be getting better, after all, now that Günter's mouth was too full of cake to chase him around.

"Yuuri, I love Chrismass!" Greta chimed in between bites of cake.

Yuuri had to chuckle, if only because she almost had the word. "Me too."

Everyone held up eating when they heard what sounded like Gwendal choking. Turning to him, they found that he was indeed looking red in the face, staring down at his plate and trembling slightly.

"Gwendal?" Günter leaned in nearby, peering anxiously at him. "Is something the matter?"

"There..." Gwendal stuttered, his voice quiet. "There's... something... in the cake."

Once Yuuri managed to piece together his meaning, he dropped his fork and cried out, "Poison!?"

"No!" Gwendal looked up and bellowed, his eyes narrowed at Yuuri. Rather than trying to explain himself, he lifted up his fork. Attached to it was a little creature, a delicately sculpted replica of a bearbee. The big black eyes peered out from a tiny round face, and there were even thin wings on its back. The only difference from the real thing was that instead of yellow and black, the little body was striped with green and red.

"Wow," Greta marveled out loud. "How cute!"

His cheeks dusted pink, Gwendal nodded.

"Ah, yes," Effe piped in nervously from her position standing by the table. "Congratulations, Your Excellency! That's the Krismass surprise baked into the cake. Getting the slice with the Krismass Bearbee means you've been blessed for the coming year."

Günter beamed, nodding approvingly at her explanation.

His fork back in hand, Yuuri smiled at the scene Gwendal made, carefully removing the little bearbee from his fork. It somehow seemed right for the little adorable thing to have found its way to Gwendal's plate of all people.

Yuuri made his way through his slice a bit slowly. It was quite rich, after all, between the interesting frosting and fruity interior. He considered bringing a Christmas cake from a store in Japan when it reached Christmas time in his world, but ultimately decided against it as he watched everyone smiling and eating around him. He didn't want to ruin their grand Christmas cake with the rather mundane and overly sugary reality. That and he never really got to plan in advance what he brought with him, after all.

"Now then," Günter spoke up again after swallowing his last bite and making sure everyone else was also wrapping up, "I believe it's time for the main Krismass celebration!"

"Christmas," Yuuri muttered under his breath, although he'd largely given up on that point by then.

Günter stood up, emphatically gesturing with one arm towards the exit. "To the main ballroom, one and all!" he declared before sweeping out of the room.

Lady Cäcilie was the first to spring up, her hands clasped together as she breezed out after him. The rest trickled out, Anissina dropping her tea only after she'd had her share and filing out after Conrad and Gwendal. Yuuri sighed, reluctant to have to deal with whatever Günter had prepared for the main event. He only hoped it didn't involve flying sleighs and Santas swooping down from the ceiling, all mysteriously aimed at his head. Sometimes, he really wondered if Günter's proclamations of love were just a ruse for his secret murderous intent, between all the strangleholds he called embraces and this. Wolfram cleared his throat and stood once it became clear Yuuri wasn't moving on his own, and crossed over to grab Greta by the hand.

"Come on," he turned back to Yuuri, smiling just a little. Wolfram must have been the cake's biggest fan in the room. The fruity sweetness seemed to please him just as much as the usual over-the-top vanilla-y sweetness he loved. Yuuri took note of it somewhere in his brain.

He hopped up eventually, pushing back the heavy chair with great effort and making his way out of the room. The hall was still littered with stragglers. Conrad smiled at the late arrivals from where he was leaned against the wall, and only once he'd made sure the King was following did he enter the double doors into the main ballroom. Yuuri did have to hand it to Günter; the event was rather well planned in that the two locations were right next to one another.

He was not, however, fully prepared for what awaited him in the ballroom. A massive red carpet had been rolled over the marble floor, interspersed with gold thread to create an intricate pattern. Anissina's sparkling globes were dangling from the high ceiling, performing their dangerous dance far above the heads of the spectators this time. There was even a new type mixed into the fray, shaped not like globes but rather like huge snowflakes themselves, twirling and glimmering as they cascaded across the room. The real amazement, however, was the massive tree standing tall in the center. It was truly of impressive stature, a real large pine like Yuuri had never seen. There weren't any Christmas lights on it, to his surprise, but then again, he forgot whether or not he'd even mentioned them to Günter. They probably didn't have anything like them in Shin Makoku, anyways, he figured. Yuuri's mouth hung open as he took the room in.

By the time he was done marveling, everyone else had interspersed through the room, all headed for some bags planted at the base of the tree. Yuuri only moved forward when Wolfram tapped him on the shoulder.

"Eh!" Yuuri exclaimed, seeing that everyone was pulling presents out of the bags. "No way!"

"What?" Wolfram asked as he headed over to his, pulling out a few long, perfectly wrapped boxes. "Isn't this the most important part of Krismass?"

Yuuri's face fell. "No way... everyone really has presents prepared... except for me?"

"Don't be silly," Wolfram countered, shoving one of the boxes into Yuuri's hands. "You're the King."

Yuuri pouted, but it was too late to return the box. "You already got me something, though," he pointed out.

"I know," Wolfram spoke with his head held high. "But this is just the normal Krismass one. The other one was special."

Cäcilie giggled from nearby, and when Yuuri looked around, he noticed everyone looking hawkishly between the two of them. Günter looked positively scandalized.

"What?" he asked, blinking innocently.

No one answered for a second, and Conrad chuckled quietly. Yuuri looked at him with desperate eyes.

"A special present," Cäcilie crooned, her hands clasped over her breasts. "Perhaps some candlelight and rose petals over silk sheets..."

"_Mother_!" Wolfram shouted, his face bright red.

Yuuri just choked and sputtered a little.

As the one who knew the truth better than the rest, Cäcilie winked at the pair before sashaying closer and presenting Yuuri with her own, similarly shaped box.

Balancing the two boxes, Yuuri's mouth twisted into a frown. "Don't tell me you all have one for me!"

"They're for everyone," Conrad smiled as he passed over his to Yuuri as well, before turning and giving one to a begrudging Wolfram.

"Eh?" Yuuri peered at his collection of boxes curiously, wondering just why they were all the exact same size. "Can I open them?"

"Of course," Cäcilie nodded. "Open mine first, Your Majesty!"

Tucking the other two under one arm, Yuuri carefully ripped into the present. He lifted off the cover, mentally preparing himself for whatever the eccentric former Queen had opted to give him. He still wasn't quite expecting what he saw. His eyes bugged out as he lifted the pair of black silky stockings out of the box, only to grow even wider at the sight of the lacy garter belt resting at the bottom. He looked up at Cäcilie, who was peering at him eagerly. "Um..." he started, "Thank... you?"

"You're welcome!" she cried cheerily, seeming not to notice his apprehension. "I hope I got the right size!"

Yuuri laughed, certain he'd never try them on. "They, um, look fine."

"Great!" Cäcilie swooped in, reaching out her arms and grabbing hold of him to hold him against her chest. Yuuri's face turned bright red as he struggled to breathe. Although he was significantly more used to contact with Lady Cäli's breasts by now, it hardly got easier to survive her embraces each time. To be fair, though, they were quite soft and comfortable.

"Mother," Wolfram complained, tugging at Yuuri's shoulder. "Don't you have stockings for everyone else, too?"

"Oh!" Cäcilie released Yuuri at last, backing away. "You're right, Wolf! I have a special pair just for you, too."

"Thank you, Mother," Wolfram stammered as he pulled the blue and white striped thigh-high stockings from their case. He promptly closed them back in. Cäcilie giggled as she wandered off to present the rest of her boxes.

"Wait..." Yuuri pondered as he looked around him to see others opening boxes to similar results. "All the gifts are stockings?"

"Of course," Wolfram huffed. "Isn't that how Krismass works? You get the person you love a special gift, and everyone else gets stockings?"

Yuuri blinked, opening and closing his mouth a few times. If he thought about it, he could see where Günter had gotten that idea. After all, in other places people got gifts _in_ stockings for Christmas. "Kind of," he laughed.

Before he could think much more about the distortion of Christmas tradition, piles of boxes were being dropped in Yuuri's overwhelmed arms. One thing was for sure: he'd never run out of stockings ever again. Not that he really wore them. But he supposed there'd been the possibility that he'd need them and not have any, before this day.

When he'd gone through the mountains of boxes, opening them all to find for the most part significantly less objectionable stocking than Cäli's gift, he felt a little tug at the back of his shirt end. He turned to find Greta peering up at him nervously, something hidden behind her back.

"Greta!" he beamed at her. "What's up? Did you get lots of nice new stockings?"

"Mm-hmm," she nodded happily. "Lots! I got special ones from Granny Cäli, too!"

At that, Yuuri frowned deeply. "Make sure daddy sees you in them and says they're okay before you wear them out, okay?"

"Okay," Greta conceded. She couldn't wait any longer after that, though, and brought out what she'd been hiding from around her back, exclaiming, "Merry Chrismass, Yuuri!"

Yuuri was positively astonished by what he saw. It was a rather large knitted lion, his fur woolly and white. He had the cutest black button eyes, and a shining emerald peeking out from beneath his mane. What really got him, however, were the two little riders sitting on his back. They were knitted dolls of him and Wolfram, with some details that he thought were pretty exceptional for such a young girl to have made. Then again, his daughter could do no wrong in Yuuri's eyes. "Wow," he breathed as he accepted the lion. "Thank you, Greta! It's amazing."

Her face a pleasant pink, Greta smiled from cheek to cheek. She bounced up and down on her heels joyously. "I made it all myself! Well, Anissina helped me figure out how, and Granny Cäli helped me with the collar, but I did all the knitting."

"That's incredible," her proud parent sniffled. "I'll treasure it."

"Don't cry, Yuuri," she whispered. "That's embarrassing."

_They grow up so fast_, Yuuri sighed to himself. Regardless, he held the lion against his chest happily.

A larger hand came to rest on Greta's little shoulder, and she looked up happily to see Conrad standing behind her. "I told you he'd love it," he murmured quietly, as if it was a secret just between them.

"You were right!" Greta beamed. She swayed her arms back and forth happily.

"Your Majesty," Conrad nodded as he turned to Yuuri.

"I told you, it's Yuuri," he interrupted with a little frown that was mostly for show.

"Yuuri," Conrad tried again, smiling. "Merry Krismass."

He held out a book of all things to Yuuri. It was a soft leather, firmly and recently bound. Yuuri blinked at it for a second before reaching to accept it. "Thanks, Conrad," he muttered as he opened it, not sure what to think yet. He couldn't exactly read Mazoku script smoothly yet, so he wasn't sure what to expect inside. Much to his surprise, there was actually a picture carefully attached over the first page. It was what looked like a child's rendition of himself, with his messy black hair and big black eyes, waving something vaguely akin to Morgif in an arm. It was certainly cute. Rather in awe, Yuuri turned the page to find a hand-written letter. He stared in vain for a while before giving in to his instinct to run his fingers over the page.

_King Yuuri,_

_My name's Daniel. I'm 17 years old and I live in Shin Makoku. My mommy and daddy both went to a far away place right after I was born. Ever since I remember, I've lived with the Sisters at my orphanage. Just a year ago, we all had to work all day and barely had enough to eat just to live. I didn't know how bad it was though, since things had always been like that. But now, I get to go to school almost every day! School is really fun. I heard that it's thanks to your ruling that we all go to school. I'm really grateful. Now I can even write on my own. Like this letter! I wrote it with only a little help from Mr. Weller. I want to be a writer one day, maybe. Now I feel like I can grow up and become something good, instead of just making it from day to day. Thanks, Your Majesty._

Yuuri blinked away the tears that rose to his eyes as he finished reading the page. Experimentally, he flipped the pages, only to find similar drawings and letters from people of various ages. His mouth hanging open, he looked up at Conrad, who was smiling benevolently as he watched. "No way," he breathed.

"The townspeople were happy to contribute when I came to them with the idea of making a scrapbook for you," Conrad explained. "You've really changed their lives."

Greta worked her way over to grab at Yuuri's pant leg and peer up at the book. Her mouth opened into a little 'o' as she admired the drawings. When she saw that Yuuri's eyes were just swimming with tears again, though, she grabbed for his hand with her smaller ones.

"Thanks, Conrad," Yuuri sniffed a little, but generally held himself together. "I'll read them all carefully later. M- merry Christmas."

Conrad just smiled peacefully. From the crowd milling about behind them, Wolfram approached with Gwendal in toe. His cheeks were lightly pink and he was wearing the tiniest of smiles. Clutched in his arms was a little wooden box with a glass cover over it. Yuuri could just barely make out dabs of color poking out into view. It took him a second, but eventually he realized they were most likely paints, knowing what someone would give Wolfram. Gwendal's vaguely embarrassed demeanor gave him away, too. Yuuri had to smile at that. Despite his usual stony expressions, Gwendal was really sweet to his baby brother.

Wolfram coughed uncomfortably at Yuuri's knowing gaze after inspecting the book in his arms curiously. Between the book and the lion, Yuuri had opted to abandon the stocking boxes on a nearby table. "I think Günter's got something planned for pretty soon," Wolfram stated, causing Gwendal to grumble quietly behind him.

"Seems about right," Yuuri laughed.

"Gisela was looking all over for him," Conrad said as he scanned the room with his eyes. Lady Cäcilie and Anissina were sharing drinks and stories near the tree already, laughing heartily. Gisela seemed to have given up looking for her flighty father, and was instead chatting with Josak, who must have snuck in at some point during the commotion. Surprisingly, he was dressed in his usual attire. Conrad would have expected a holiday gown from him. Castle staff were still weaving through the room transporting trays and bags, looking frenzied but pleased. Perhaps they were star struck by all the nobility crammed into one room.

As if on cue, bells started chiming. The sound was muffled, coming from a ways off. Nearly everyone in the room perked up curiously, turning their heads this way and that to try and see where the noise was coming from. Only Josak seemed to have a knowing smirk on his face, while Gwendal simply looked on as impassively as ever. The chiming was soon followed by a sound everyone present could not possibly fail to recognize-hooves clattering. It was, however familiar, not one they were used to hearing from within the castle walls. Both noises got increasingly louder as the room fell into a greater frenzy. A murmur carried from one person to another as they all wondered at the approaching oddity.

Fortunately, they didn't have to worry for long. The main doors sprung open emphatically, crashing back against the walls from the force. Through the gateway, what Yuuri at first would have described as nothing other than a reindeer galloped in, right on the red carpet. As another one filed in after, tethered to the former by a harness, however, he got a closer look at the animal. It wasn't a reindeer, but a... horse? Wait, it looked far more familiar than just any horse-it was his own Ao! There was a complicated mechanism attached to his head that created the effect of a majestic pair of spindly antlers, and what looked like a clown's nose placed above his actual nostrils. Yuuri stared in dumb amazement. One more horse followed after, pulling at its back a bright red sleigh with golden trimming painted on. And, sitting in the driver's seat was none other than Lord Günter von Kleist, dressed in one of the most extravagant red robes Yuuri had yet to see (and he'd seen his fair share of ridiculously dressed royalty since his arrival in Shin Makoku). His caplet was adorned with pristine white fur, and a forest green cravat poked out at his collar. Yuuri had to admit that, somehow or other, he was actually a fairly good approximation of what this world's version of Santa Claus should have been.

"Merry Krismass!" Günter trilled as the horses slowed to a stop, shaking their heads and sending their manes flying and faux-antlers trembling. He let down the reigns and dismounted gracefully, landing one foot at a time on the carpet. His descent revealed a large sack resting in the back of the sleigh. With a swooping gesture, he untied the string holding it shut. "I, Saint Kleist, have arrived to bestow upon all true Krismass cheer!"

Everyone stared in awed silence for a long while as the self-proclaimed Saint Kleist stood smiling at them triumphantly. His eyes caught the King's wide ones, who promptly panicked and, in his nervousness, did the first thing that came to mind. He put his hands together in applause. No one else really knew what to do, either, so they hesitantly took up one after another applauding Saint Kleist's grand entrance. With the room filled with laudations for him, Günter positively glowed.

"Presents for all!" he declared. "May this first Krismass be remembered for time immemorial!"

If anyone noticed the elegant contradiction, they declined to comment. The applause became more hearty as Günter removed one box after another from his bag, distributing them seemingly at random between noble and castle staff both.

Yuuri's mouth twitched with awkward laughter as he hesitantly continued to put his hands together, although at this point only a pathetic little 'swoosh' sound was coming out. The noise level did eventually depreciate as the clapping faded and people's hands were full of presents. Yuuri exchanged looks with Conrad and Wolfram, who looked almost as stunned as he felt. Of all the ridiculous stunts Günter had pulled before, this one easily took the proverbial Christmas cake.

Before he could make any emergency escape plans, Günter twirled into Yuuri's line of view. "This," he announced as he stopped to face the King, "is my Krismass gift to you, Your Majesty."

Wincing a little in anticipation, Yuuri looked to Günter's hands, but found them empty. "Eh? What is?"

"All of this," Günter explained with total gravity. "I knew that I would be fulfilling your heart's true desire by giving joy to one and all."

Yuuri sighed in relief. He had been afraid of whatever magnificent token his advisor might have prepared to show his affection and appreciation. "Thanks, Günter," he smiled. "Merry Christmas!"

Günter appeared to be positively in heaven, basking in the light of his sovereign's smile, before Wolfram's foot mysteriously happened to cross paths with his. He scowled at him, his benevolent saintly look suddenly a world away. Fortunately, a distressed guard ran up to him and demanded his attention before he could yell at anyone. Wolfram watched triumphantly as he sprinted off, the confused guard in tow. Some part of Christmas was probably falling apart back stage. Yuuri only hoped that it wasn't the decorations on the ceiling, because they could very well be doomed. He was considering guiding his family to safety when he noticed a hand waving in his face. He blinked, only to find himself looking right at a very irritated Wolfram. "Eh?" he squeaked.

"Finally!" Wolfram huffed. "I've been trying to tell you that I need to step out for a bit."

"Oh," Yuuri nodded. "Okay, I'll see you later, then. Don't get hit by any stray decorations!"

Wolfram snorted. "I wouldn't. That's just you."

Yuuri pulled down one eyelid and stuck his tongue out at his friend as he walked away, before giving in and laughing as he waved. Greta giggled beside him.

"I can kind of see why you guys were all so stressed about Christmas," Yuuri grinned at Conrad, who had faithfully remained nearby throughout Günter's whole display. "Between Günter and Anissina, it's a lot crazier than Christmas back on Earth. Well, in Japan at least."

Conrad chuckled quietly, but didn't respond. Yuuri found out why a second later when he heard Anissina's high tones from behind him call out, "What's this I hear about crazy?"

Jolting to stand up straight, Yuuri turned to face her. When he saw Gisela standing at her side, his hand subconsciously moved up into a salute, even though she was smiling warmly. "A- Anissina! Gisela!" he called out stiffly. "I was just saying that Christmas is a crazy amount of fun. Even more than it is on Earth!"

"Right," Gisela chortled. "Father really went all out to make it special."

"And I do believe these decorations are some of my best work yet," Anissina smirked with her eyes on the continuing dance of snowflakes and globes on the ceiling.

Yuuri nodded with passion. "Certainly! They really made... quite an impression."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Anissina ducked into a perfect curtsy, her high ponytail swishing behind her. "You should see the final act of what we have planned."

Yuuri's stomach dropped with dread at the idea that Anissina had helped out with more of the Christmas event. Actually, now that he thought of it, she was probably responsible for the antler contraptions on the horses. He glanced over to check on where Saint Kleist's entourage had paraded in, only to find the sleigh left there abandoned. _Ah, that was probably the incident Günter ran off to go fix_, he figured. They'd had to escort out the 'reindeer.'

"Were you able to give Günter your gift?" Conrad inclined his head toward Gisela.

"Yes!" she nodded, looking satisfied. "He was still hurrying everywhere, but it looked like he appreciated it. He'll certainly need it after all the festivities have died down."

Yuuri looked between them with interest. He started to ask, "What did..."

Before he could finish, the lights flickered out in quick succession, each flame snuffed. The room was filled with a collective gasp. There was one crash, but otherwise no one outright panicked. They were all fairly used to over the top dramatics by this point.

"It is now time," Günter's voice boomed from somewhere in the darkness, "for the lighting of the Krismass tree!"

"Lighting!?" Yuuri exclaimed, feeling a bit excited despite himself. "But I didn't see any light bulbs on it or anything."

The rest of the room was filled with an awed murmur. No one else had heard of such a thing as trees lighting outside of forest fires.

A single light burst into existence with a slight hiss, right up near the ceiling. Yuuri assumed it was from the chandelier, but when he craned his head to look, he found that it was actually from the top of the massive pine. And what he could see in that first bit of flame, although it was far up, was unmistakably Wolfram's face, with those golden curls and bright green eyes lit up by his element. Before he'd even considered how in the world Wolfram had gotten up there, Yuuri started to panic. "W- Wolf!" he called, flailing his arms.

He must have been loud enough for Wolfram to hear, because in the light of the flame he saw a familiar chastising look as he raised one finger to his lips to shush him. Yuuri let out a strangled cry of frustration and looked to Conrad desperately. Conrad looked just a bit surprised, which was quite exceptional for him.

"I present to you," Günter declared again, his voice resounding even in the wide space, "the Krismass angel!"

The flame billowed out around Wolfram's figure, revealing the rest of him and casting more light on the rest of the ballroom again. He'd changed into a flowing white robe that Yuuri, personally, blamed whatever tailor was responsible for Günter's regular attire for. Not that there was anything wrong with it; it was just very distinctive. Yuuri did have to admit that he looked like the traditional depiction of an angel, minus the wings. He didn't have time to go back to panicking about how Wolfram was up there before the fire was spreading again. Much to his horror, it continued down the tree in a burning spiral. The smell of pine in his nostrils was now incredibly strong, and it _did_ look quite stunning as the entire tree slowly glowed with interspersed tethers of flame. There was a murmur of appreciation and amazement throughout the room, and Yuuri looked around in distress, wondering why no one else was fearing for Wolfram's-and all of their-lives. He turned to Conrad again, whose shoulders were now shaking in silent laughter. Yuuri gestured in bewilderment towards the tree, and then back at them, his mouth moving as if to form words, but nothing more than sputtering coming out.

"Relax," Conrad spoke at last. "It's magical fire. It's completely under Wolfram's control, so it won't spread beyond those areas of the tree."

Yuuri still didn't feel quite comfortable with the prospect of the massive tree burning in front of him, but his arms fell to his sides again with a sigh. He turned back to look worriedly at Wolfram, who looked to be in deep concentration. After the flames had been dancing in their places for a good few minutes, he smiled and closed his eyes, dismissing them all at once with a gesture. There wasn't time for Yuuri to feel at ease thanks to the lack of an imminent fire hazard, however, before Wolfram did the unthinkable and simply hopped off of his perch at the pinnacle of the tree. This time, Yuuri's panicked instincts did kick in and his feet were in motion right away, propelling him forward through the crowd and towards the tree. From that height, he didn't know how much it would help, but he needed to at least try and catch his poor and suddenly insane fiancée (and more importantly, friend).

Much to his surprise, though, Wolfram landed neatly on his feet right in front of him. In his panic, he somehow had failed to notice the wires strapped onto him from the back of his robes that had guided his descent. He shrugged the straps off, sending the wires snapping back towards the ceiling where they joined the other mechanisms busily sending the decorations gliding around. Wolfram then turned back to the crowd as the candles slowly flickered back to life, lighting the room again. He smiled, pleasantly surprised to see Yuuri right up front.

Yuuri blinked at him, eyes impossibly wide and arms still extended, ready to catch him as he had been.

"What's the matter?" Wolfram asked as he tilted his head quizzically.

All the adrenaline fell out of Yuuri's body with a 'whoosh' as he practically deflated, his arms falling as he slouched forward against Wolfram. "I thought you were gonna die," he whined.

"Of course not," Wolfram snorted, although his face was a cherry pink as his arm rose to wrap around Yuuri's shoulder to support him. "Mazoku sacrifice isn't a part of Krismass, is it?"

"No!" Yuuri cried. "You were just up so high. And the flames... the tree..."

Wolfram grabbed hold of both Yuuri's shoulders this time, pushing him back to look him in the eye. "Calm down," he smiled. "Everything's fine. It was just the lighting of the Krismass tree. Günter and Anissina put it together, and they just wanted me to play the angel... since I can use fire, and all. We practiced the wire system to make sure it was safe."

"Oh," Yuuri breathed. Another few breaths and he smiled back at Wolfram, feeling more than a little silly. "Well, um... It was a nice show."

His cheeks flushed with pleasure, Wolfram lifted his head to a proud angle. "Naturally!"

Before, Yuuri might have narrowed his eyes at him and commented about his attitude, but he decided to let it go this time. He felt a little tug at the back of his shirt again. When he attempted to turn back, he realized that his shoulders were still Wolfram's captives, so he opted for merely twisting his neck back as far as he could comfortably. He saw no one until he remembered to look down to child level, when he spotted Greta beaming up at the two of them.

"You're such a pretty angel, Wolfram!" she chimed. "Don't you think, Yuuri?"

Wolfram let go of Yuuri and stepped back slightly, giving Greta a strained smile. Yuuri looked at him in confusion for a second before realizing that it was an expression of resigned disappointment. It was like he thought he knew Yuuri's answer before he'd given it! Yuuri didn't like that, not one bit. So, one can be assured it was only to be contrary when he answered, "Definitely!" with his eyes trained on his feet and cheeks bright red. He snuck a glance at Wolfram's reaction, and promptly resumed looking away after seeing the surprised look of joy mixed with embarrassment. Yuuri grabbed Greta's hand. "Why don't we all go see about getting something to eat? I'm starving after all that action!" he said quickly.

Greta looked more disappointed than anyone to see the topic changing, but she nodded. "Okay! I want some more Chrismass cake."

Wolfram's smile widened at that. "I do too," he stated as he took up her other hand.

The three of them made their way quietly through the milling crowd of excited Christmas spectators widely unnoticed. Yuuri's heart was still beating a little too fast, but he was hoping for the rest of the evening to be much more peaceful.

~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~

"...And that's when Santa Claus goes back up the chimney, to rejoin his reindeer and move on to the next household," Yuuri murmured softly. He'd been busy half-making up his version of Earth's Christmas story from bits and pieces he remembered hearing once, and failed to notice that Greta had drifted away a good minute or two before the conclusion, her head resting against the big pile of pillows. Her light snore caught his attention, and he smiled, running a hand over her little curls. "She falls asleep so quickly. I know who she gets that from," he whispered as he looked up to Wolfram where he lay on his stomach on the other side of Greta, his chin in his hands as he peered back at Yuuri.

Wolfram laughed quietly. "She gets plenty else from you."

"True enough," Yuuri conceded with a proud smile.

"I didn't only mean good things," Wolfram snorted, but the fondness in his eyes betrayed him.

Yuuri huffed and stretched his arms above his head, his jaw opening wide into a yawn. "Today was a long day," he mumbled as he crawled up to the head of the bed, sliding the covers back and slipping his legs in.

"Well," Wolfram chewed his lip, rolling over onto his back. "It was, but... I think I ended up liking Krismass."

Yuuri smiled widely as he snuggled into the warmth of the bed. "Yeah," he murmured, equally sleepy and happy. "It was a really special day."

Greta made a succession of soft noises in her sleep as she turned over, which Yuuri took to be her subconscious agreeing with them. He ruffled her hair one last time for the night, while he could. She'd be punching him as she dreamt soon enough.

"Goodnight, Yuuri," Wolfram yawned, his hand reaching over to Greta and meeting Yuuri's there.

Instead of withdrawing his hand, in his drowsiness Yuuri had no objection to gently squeezing Wolfram's. "Night, Wolf," he whispered as he drifted off.

If one thing was for sure about Krismass in Wolfram's mind, which was now wide awake and racing, it was that it warranted a very long entry in his diary.

~*~*~*Merry Krismass to all, and to all a good night!*~*~*~


End file.
